The Boy at the Bar
by SereneCalamity
Summary: It was Four. It had always been Four. Until one day...He showed up.


_Okay, so I don't want any hate from the Four/Tris group. I love them, I love Theo James...But I love Jai Courtney so this sort of came to light. Also the song in here is called_ Fast Car _by Tracey Chapman._

 _Disclaimer: I want to own both Theo and Jai, but I don't. I don't own any of them :(_

Beatrice Prior sighed as she wiped down the table, picking up the dishes that had been left behind by the customers. It was almost eleven o'clock and she had been working since twelve in the afternoon. She was meant to finish at seven but the girl who was doing the night shift had never showed up, and now that she had no one to go home too, she didn't see much point in not picking up the extra hours and money that would go with it. But her body ached, and her feet hurt, and now she couldn't wait to knock off.

"Hey, girl!" Christina Kravitz called from behind the bar. "J says we can head off early!" Tris smiled, and looked over to where Jeanine Matthews was closing up the cash register.

"You girls go have fun. It's a Saturday night, go out dancing and drinking or whatever you kids do," Jeanine told the two of them with a smile.

"Thanks, Jeanine," Tris gave her a tired smile as she threw her rag into the sink and then reached over the bar to grab her wallet and phone. "You ready?" Christina nodded and grabbed her keys from off the hook by the fridge and waved over her shoulder at her boss as they walked to the edge of the bar. The door swung open as they reached it, and a tall, handsome man filled the doorway, blocking the exit. He had dirty blonde hair, and there was a tattoo inching out of the black v-neck that he was wearing.

"Ooh," Christina blinked and then smirked, fluttering her eyelashes at the muscular man. Tris rolled her eyes and grabbed her friends arm, pulling her to the side so that the man could pass and they walked out as he entered the bar. "He was yummy," Christina grinned as she looked over her shoulder.

"You're unbelievable," Tris muttered as they reached Christina's car.

"Did you see him?" Christina raised her eyebrows at Tris over the roof of the car as she unlocked the doors but her friend just rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, he was alright," Tris shrugged as she slid into the passenger seat and dropped her bag on the ground.

"Alright?!" Christina practically squealed as she turned to face Tris. "You've got to be kidding me, right?!"

"Shit," Tris rolled her eyes again and laughed. "I'm not as obsessed with guys as you are, okay?" Christina screwed up her nose at that and snorted. "What? I'm not," she protested. "I swear you look at every male that passes by —and even some females." Christina shrugged as she turned over the engine of the car.

"I don't discriminate by gender," the dark haired girl grinned as she buckled up her seat belt and then looked over her shoulder to make sure there was no one behind her as she slid the car into reverse. To stop any further uncomfortable conversation from ensuing, which it undoubtedly would because it was _Christina_ , Tris leaned forward and turned up the radio. _Marvin Gaye_ was playing and the two girls sung along on their way home. They parked the car in the underground parking building, and took the elevator up to the sixth floor, where their two bed roomed apartment was. "We're going out tomorrow night, right?"

"Yeah, fine," Tris muttered, not sounding interested at all as she pulled the hair tie out of her hair and running her hand through it. "I just don't get it. We work at a bar five days a week, why do you want go out on our night off?"

"We're not going to a bar, Tris," Christina grumbled. "We're going to a _club_."

"What's the difference?" Tris muttered as she tugged off her jersey and her shirt, coming back out of the bathroom in her bra and jeans as she tried to find a towel. She found a clean one in the cupboard and then walked back into the lounge where Christina was now sprawled out on the couch in front of the TV. "I honestly don't see why you want me to go out with you. I hate that kind of shit."

"You need something inside you," Christina replied with a curled lip as she scanned her eyes over her friend. "Like, something penis shaped. _In you_."

"You're disgusting. I give up," Tris turned around and stalked back into the lounge, but she couldn't stop the smile that pulled at the corners of her mouth, something that she couldn't stop when Christina teased her. She could hear her friend laughing behind her as she shut the bathroom door and undressed. As soon as she stepped into the shower, there was banging on the door and she let out a loud groan. "I _just_ got in, Christina!" She yelled. "Wait your turn!"

"Tobias was a jackass who didn't deserve you! You've been brooding and boring for too long now, and we need to go out and find out some hot piece of ass to clear your mind!" Christina replied.

"Not everything get's solved with sex, Tina, even if you think it does," Tris snapped. Tobias Eaton, who went by the nickname Four due to the fact he was the youngest of four children in his family, had screwed her over. They had been together for almost five years, her first and only serious relationship, when she come home and found him banging some chick on their kitchen counter. Tris shook her head and tilted her head back so that the water from the shower poured over her face.

"Well, sex always helps to get your mind off things," Christina muttered as she left the bathroom door. Tris let out a sigh of relief. As much as she loved her room mate, she wasn't the type of person to open up about how she felt; and she really wasn't the type of person who went out clubbing to get a guy.

She wouldn't even know how to do that if she tried.

Good thing she had Christina.

* * *

"I honestly feel like I'm wearing a towel!" Tris shouted to Christina over the music that was pumping out of the speakers in the corners of the club. Christina just rolled her eyes as she skimmed her eyes over her friend.

"You look good, Tris!" Christina shouted back. "You look hot! Just relax and get a drink with me." Christina took a hold of Tris' wrist and pulled her through the crowd toward the bar. Christina never had any problem getting attention, even when there were a ton of other people to choose from, and the bartender was soon coming over to them and asking for their drink orders. "My shout! What do you want?"

"I'll just get a water!" Tris told her friend. Christina grumbled under her breath as she put in the order for her Tris's water and her own alcoholic drink. They had caught a cab there, so neither of them needed to be the designated sober driver, but Tris had only been drunk about three times in her life, and she really didn't like the hangover she had to experience the next day.

"You need to have at least one vodkatini tonight, okay?!" Christina shouted. "Now, I'm going to go and check that boy out, over there," she pointed across the room to where there were a couple of men standing together. "You can take his friend," she sung out, but Tris just rolled her eyes.

"I'm fine right here," she muttered.

"Fine," Christina shrugged and danced her way across the room. Tris managed to find herself a seat at the bar, and sat there, drinking from her bottle of water. She watched people, rolling her eyes as a couple of drunk girls stumbled around, trying to find someone to dance with. Her eyes flickered over to where Christina was; clearly making an impression on the boy she had singled out. He was now ignoring his friends, and they were scanning the groups of people dancing, undoubtedly looking for someone to dance with.

"Hey," came a voice from beside her, very close to her ear, and Tris let out a squeak of fright, almost falling off her seat. Then came a laugh, a low, rumbling laugh that made her insides warm. "Sorry, I didn't meant to scare you. I just came over because I saw a familiar face." Tris turned to look at him, her eyes widening as she saw the man that her and Christina had bumped into on their way out of the work last night.

"Uh," Tris swallowed hard as she looked at him, her whole body frozen as she looked up and down at the man in front of him. God, Christina had been right last night. He was yummy. His hair was cut short at the sides, the fringe a little longer and pushed back, and he was wearing jeans and a simple dark shirt, that hugged at his well cut figure and biceps, that neck tattoo partially visible. Tris blinked when she realized that she had been staring for a few seconds longer than socially acceptable. "Oh, uh, I'm Tris."

"Eric," he said, grinning back at her. "Eric Courtney." He held out his hand to her and she reached and shook it firmly. She realized that he also had a peircing in his right eyebrow, and she was surprsied at the stab of heat in her stomach. Tris quickly dropped her eyes back to the drink she had in front of her. "Water?" He smiled at her. "Really?"

"I don't really drink," Tris shrugged, feeling uncomfortable. Not that he was making her feel uncomfortable, but the whole atmosphere was.

"That's cool," Eric nodded as he held up a hand to the bartender, ordering a bourbon on the rocks. "Jeanine said that you were a pretty upstanding citizen."

"You're friends with Jeanine?" Tris asked, tilting her head to the side and hoping that it didn't look as awkward as it felt. She really didn't know how to flirt, and she found insanely awkward sitting there talking to a beautiful man and not knowing how to act. That was where Christina came in handy —probably the only area where Christina surpassed Tris, and it had never been a problem before.

Until now.

"She's my aunt," Eric said. "I just graduated in mechanical engineering, but there aren't many jobs going right now, and I really need to start paying back my student loan," he explained to her, his elbows resting on the bar next to Tris. "She offered me a job in the mean time."

"She's good like that," Tris smiled as she thought of her boss.

"Yeah, she is," Eric smiled at her, and she felt a whole new rush of heat. Tris straightened up in her seat, squeezing her legs together and clearing her throat uncomfortably. "How long have you been working there?"

"Just a couple of months. I, uh, dropped out of Uni about six months ago —I realized that the only reason that I actually went was because I had this plan all worked out with my ex boyfriend and it wasn't actually what I wanted," Tris told him, the words all coming out without her really thinking about it. "I was doing a law degree but I _hate_ law and I don't want to be surronded by legal and social policy for the rest of my life! I always wanted to do something like...Interior design, or teaching, or —" she broke off as she realized that she was babbling and her cheeks flushed red. "Sorry," she apologized shortly and Eric let out a short laugh and shook his head.

"No, no, it's fine," he assured her. Tris gave him another tight smile and looked back down at her bottle of water. Eric was still grinning as he picked up his drink and sipped from it. "So, ex boyfriend? What happened between you two, if you don't mind me asking?" Tris shrugged and looked over at him.

"He cheated on me," she said simply. The smile dropped off Eric's face and he looked back down at the ground, tapping his finger against the side of his glass.

"I'm sorry," he murmured, his voice barely audible over the loud music in the club. In fact, if Tris wasn't looking at him, she guessed that she probably wouldn't have known what he said. "I know how that feels, and...It's shit."

"You can say that again," Tris agreed with a roll of her eyes.

"It's shit," Eric repeated, the smile coming back to his face. "Hey, uh, do you wanna dance?" He asked, looking over his shoulder to where throngs of people were moving together. Tris's eyes widened and she shook her head from side to side jerkily.

"Nope," she said. "I'm a terrible dancer." She looked back over the dance floor to where Tina was still flirting up a storm with the brunette boy. She didn't look like she was going to want to leave any time soon, even though Tris had told her she only wanted to crash there for an hour or so. Tris spun her barstool around so tht she was facing the rest of the club, rather than just the bar. Eric was still watching her, and she realized that she had pretty much shut him down . "Um, I only ever dance when I'm alone or with Tina and I'm in our apartment."

"You didn't even dance with this ex boyfriend of yours?" Eric asked.

"He was the one who _told_ me I was a terrible dancer," Tris let out a short laugh. "Probably the only favor he ever did me."

"Isn't that most of the point?" Eric grinned as he turned around, leaning his back against the bar so that he was facing the same way as her.

"Why do you think that?" Tris asked.

"Because it's fun," Eric smirked. "Anyway, if you're not gonna give me a dance, at least let me buy you a drink. A proper one—not...That," he gestured at the bottle of water she was holding.

"Oh, I—I don't really drink," Tris attempted to shoot down the idea but Eric was already holding up his hand to flag down the bartender.

"Just a shot," he assured her, and ordered two Quick Fucks. He paid by swiping his card and then handed her a shot. "Cheers," he said as he tapped his shot glass against hers.

"Cheers," Tris echoed as she cautiously drank back the liquid, sliding down her throat and giving her a bit of a head rush. Eric had already swallowed his shot and put down the shot glass upside down on the counter top. "Thanks," she told him, and Erin gave her a quick smile in return. She casually looked back out over the crowd and then her eyes widened as she saw Christina dancing pretty damn dirty with the boy she had sidled over too. Eric followed her gaze and grinned when he saw what she was looking at.

"That was the friend you were with last night, right?" Eric asked and Tris nodded, running her hand through her long hair and flipping it over her shoulder.

"Ye-eah," Tris sounded out. "She's kind of —" Tris broke off with a laugh as she saw Tina spin around and throw her arms up. "She's kind of the crazy one."

"Well, that's good," Eric said. "It's good to have a crazy one." There was shouting to the left of them, and a couple of men were standing there, waving Eric over. "Well, Tris. It was nice to meet you," he told her, looking at her sideways and giving her this lazy smile that made her stomach clench again. "I'll see you around work," he touched two fingers to his head and gave her a salute before sauntering off. Tris watched him walk off, chewing down on her lower lip as she did.

* * *

He hadn't been kidding, when he had told Tris that he would see her at work. He seemed to have every shift that she did, and Christina told her a couple of times that she had caught him staring over at them. Tris ignored her friend, focusing on her work and not getting distracted by the gorgeous hunk of a man who was their new bouncer/handyman.

"You almost done out here, babes?" Jeanine asked, rubbing a hand over her tired eyes as she looked over to where Tris was wiping down the the booths in the restaurant area.

"I'm probably going to be about another half an hour," Tris winced. "Sorry, I've fallen behind since Tina went home sick."

"Okay, well, I need to be back here at seven in the morning for stock take, so would you be okay if I left you behind?" Jeanine gave her a sympathetic look but Tris just nodded a couple f times.

"Yeah, that's completely fine," Tris assured her.

"Okay, love," Jeanine picked up her jacket and keys. "Make sure you lock up before you leave." Jeanine gave her one last wave before leaving, reminding her over her shoulder to lock up the front door when she left. Tris was fine with being left in the pub alone. It was just after two and everyone and left over half an hour ago. The smell of the deep fryer in the back at dissipated and so now all the could smell was the scent of the pine cleaner she had been using for the bar and the table tops. Tris walked over to the iPod dock and radio that was set up behind the bar, skimming through her list of music before finding an old song that she liked, and pressing down on it. The smooth tune for Tracey Chapman's Fast Car came out of the speakers in the corners of the room, and a smile creased Tris' mouth. She kicked off the heeled shoes that were part of their uniform, her aching feet enjoying the press of cold wood against her soles.

 _You got a fast car  
_ _I want a ticket to anywhere  
_ _Maybe we can make a deal  
_ _Maybe together we can get somewhere  
_ _Any place is better_

Tris swayed her hips from side to side as she sung the words softly under her breath. She danced slowly around a table, picking up the chairs and flipping them upside down to put on top of the wood table. The song continued and Tris kept singing along, tilting her head to the side so that her hair fell over her shoulder as she spun herself around in a circle, picking up more chairs. She was completely unaware that she was being watched until she turned around to pick up a couple of salt shakers to refill them and she saw Eric standing in the doorway.

"Oh, shit!" She gasped, her eyes wide.

"Fuck, sorry," Eric winced, coming forward and giving her an apologetic look. "Sorry, I just didn't want to disturb you."

"Dude," Tris could still feel her heart pounding in her chest but her pulse was beginning to slow down. She shook her head and rolled her eyes. "You gave me a fright."

"Aunt J said that she left you behind here to close up and she didn't want you to walk to your car by yourself," he told her, coming over to where she was standing with the big bag of salt and a line of the salt shakers that she had collected from the tables. He stopped on the opposite side of the bar and Tris felt her stomach starting to tighten again, but it was for a completely different reason this time than fright.

"She's never said anything like that before," Tris arched an eyebrow at the older man. He was looking gorgeous, as usual, in a tight, white shirt, a leather jacket and a pair of jeans. The v neck of the shirt also showed off more of the tattoo's that were inscribed across his chest and making it's way up his neck and over his shoulders.

According to Christina, tattoo's and piercings were every girls weakness, but Tris had met her fair share of rebellious looking men, and none of them had gotten this reaction from her. She sucked in a deep breath and went back to filling up a shaker with salt. Eric fell quiet, and started helping her. Tris hoped that the shake in her hand wasn't too obvious, and she took in a deep breath as their fingers brushed as they both reached for the same shaker.

"Sorry," Tris muttered, snapping her hand back quickly. She kept her head bent as she poured salt into the shaker, but Eric was watching her. Tris glanced up and caught him looking. She expected him to look away but he didn't, his eyes boring into hers. Her breath was caught in her throat and she attempted to swallow, but it didn't wash away the heat that was flooding to her cheeks. Eric's lips stretched in a smile and Tris knew that her cheeks were so red they were burning, and she looked back down.

"Hey," Eric reached across the table and put a finger under her chin, tilting her head up. "Why are you blushing?"

"Because you're staring at me!" Tris protested, jerking her face away from him.

"You're nice to look," Eric teased her lightly and she rolled her eyes again, huffing under her breath. She picked up the shakers she had finished and began walking back around the put, situating them back on the tables. She had just about finished when she turned around, and Eric was standing right there. Tris let out a squeak as he put his hands on either side of her, resting on the table and locking her between them. "You're also nice to talk to."

"Are you hitting on me?" Tris asked, tilting her head to the side. Eric looked surprised by her question and let out a short laugh.

"Yes. Yes I am," he told her. Tris let out a nervous laugh of her own and nodded.

"Just checking," she replied. Eric's eyes were playful as he leaned in just a little bit closer to her.

"I am..." he was so close that his breath was warming her lips. "Most definitely..." he pressed a kiss to her cheek, his mouth ever so slightly touching hers. "Hitting on you." This time his lips connected with hers and Tris felt herself responding instantly. Her hands came up to frame Eric's face and his hands moved from the table top to her hips, holding her body against his. The kiss didn't last long, but Tris felt it all the way down to her toes. When he pulled away, he was stil smiling at her.

"So that happened," Tris mumbled out, taking in a deep breath.

"That happened," Eric repeated back with a laugh. They stared at each other for another long moment, before Eric took the salt shakers from her and helped distribute them to the final tables.

 _Let me know what you think :)_


End file.
